Let It Snow
by Owl
Summary: *COMPLETE* A bit of Alec Christmas fluff. Well, it's as fluffy as I can manage, anyway.
1. Christmas Eve

Alec never saw her coming.  
  
One moment, he was riding his bike down South Market Street; the next thing he knew, his bike came to an abrupt stop and he went flying. Now, X- 5s can do a lot of things that norms can't, but flying is not one of them. So, naturally, Alec landed rather painfully and ended up sprawled on the sidewalk.  
  
"Oh, no," he heard someone moan. He sat up with a little difficulty and looked around to see who he had run into. A little a ways from him, a young woman was on her knees in front of the boxes she had been carrying, a hand to her forehead. The boxes had opened in mid-flight, and their contents were spilled everywhere.  
  
The presents were scattered all over the sidewalk, some relieved of the decorative paper she had so painstakingly wrapped. Slowly, resignedly, she got to her feet and started picking up the presents. Or what was left of them.  
  
Looking around for any she might have missed, she saw the teddy bear lying in the middle of the road. Without thinking, she ran into the street and picked it up. As she did so, she noticed the teddy bear's head was a little lopsided. She touched it, and it swung off, dangling by only a few threads.  
  
She felt like crying. In less than a second, all her long hours of hard work had been ripped to shreds. Literally. She had picked this teddy out especially for Sola, for whom this Christmas would be the first spent with them. And now look at it.  
  
Suddenly, a loud horn sounded and she was pulled onto the sidewalk just as a truck roared past. Her heart racing from the close encounter, she looked to see who had saved her from an unsuitably melodramatic demise.  
  
Ironically enough, the one who had saved her was the same one who had put her in this position in the first place. He said something, but her head was still spinning. "What?"  
  
"I said, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes. No." She sighed. "I don't know." She looked down at the teddy bear still clutched in her hand, its head upside-down, the eyes looking up at her forlornly. "No. No, definitely not okay." She shook her head. "But if I hang around for much longer, you're going to end up hearing a lot of things you could probably care less about. So thanks for saving my life, and I'll be going now."  
  
"Wait," Alec surprised himself by saying. He gestured to the boxes heaped uncertainly in her arms. "Do you need some help with those?"  
  
"I'd love that, actually," she admitted, a smile touching her lips. "But what about your bike?"  
  
They both turned to look at the bike.that wasn't there. Alec looked around frantically for any sign of it, but it was gone. Someone had stolen it while he was busy elsewhere. Great, just great. He turned back to her. "Well, guess we won't have to worry about that now." He took some of the boxes from her. "Lead the way."  
  
~*~  
  
She was passably pretty. She had fiery copper hair that was forced into a bun, but random curls had escaped, springing from her head in odd places. Her eyes, hidden behind a pair of glasses, were deep blue, the color of the sky on a really nice, sunny day. Freckles dusted her vanilla- colored skin, like someone had mistaken her for a pie and sprinkled cinnamon on her.  
  
They walked in silence until she said, "Oh, by the way, I'm Kaitlin."  
  
"Alec," he replied. "Nice to meet ya."  
  
She smiled. "You, too."  
  
Finally, they reached their destination: a cheerful-looking lavender house with white trimmings, tucked away among all the tall buildings. Kaitlin knocked, or rather, kicked the door with her foot, calling, "Mum, it's me!"  
  
The door opened to reveal a plump, friendly-looking, gray-haired woman. If there was one thing anyone could say, it was that she and the house definitely belonged together. "Kaity, dear, where have you been? I've been worried sick!" she scolded. Then she noticed Alec. "And who's this?"  
  
"Oh, just some bum I picked up on the road. You know me, Mum," Kaitlin joked as she entered the house. She turned to flash a grin at 'Mum' and Alec. "Just kidding. Mum, this is Alec. Alec, Mum. She's very pleased to meet you."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Alec said politely as he edged his way into the house. Yes, even he could be polite when he wanted to be. It was just that he usually didn't want to be.  
  
"Where do you want me to put these?" he asked, looking around. The room he was in was huge, but sparsely furnished. There was a fireplace, and a pine tree decorated with tiny lights and some kind of metallic rope and different colored balls.  
  
"Anywhere's fine," Kaitlin answered, setting her boxes on the floor. She took the lid off one of the boxes and frowned. She sighed and looked up, meeting Mum's gaze. "This is why I was late, Mum." She showed her what was inside the box: presents with half the wrapping torn off, some in more desolate condition than others.  
  
Mum gasped. "What happened?"  
  
Alec spoke up. "It was my fault. I was on my bike, and I didn't see her coming."  
  
Mum raised an eyebrow. So that was how they had met each other.  
  
"Well, I didn't see you coming either," Kaitlin pointed out. "So it's not completely your fault. Not completely," she added with a smile. She sighed again. "Anyway, I guess I better get to re-wrapping these."  
  
"I'll help," Alec offered.  
  
"You don't have to," Kaitlin told him.  
  
"No, I want to," he assured her. He had no idea why he was so insistent to help, but he was, so the rest of him just went with it.  
  
Just then, a little boy stuck his head around the corner. Eventually, the rest of him appeared. "What're those for?" he asked, pointing to the boxes.  
  
"They're our new seats. Like 'em?" Kaitlin teased.  
  
"No, they're not," the little boy said solemnly.  
  
"Really? Then what are they for?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips.  
  
"I think they're for Christmas presents!" And with that, he dived at one of the boxes, but Kaitlin intercepted him and started tickling him. The little boy giggled helplessly, writhing in her grasp, unable to escape.  
  
Once she had successfully diverted him, she finally stopped and said, "Saul, say hi to Alec."  
  
Saul turned his head to look at Alec. Big brown eyes stared up at him. Then he shook his head and buried his face in Kaitlin's shoulder. "He's a little shy," she explained, ruffling his coal black hair affectionately.  
  
"It's okay." Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something move. But when he turned to look, it was gone. Probably just my imagination. The only problem with that was that he didn't have one.  
  
Kaitlin turned to the older woman. "Mum, do you mind if we use your room? It's the only one with a lock."  
  
"Go right ahead," Mum answered.  
  
"Thanks." Kaitlin was turning to pick up the boxes; she didn't see Mum's knowing smile. "Follow me," she said to Alec, gently detaching Saul. "Saul, honey, why don't you help Mum."  
  
"Bake some more cookies," Mum finished.  
  
Kaitlin smiled gratefully. "Bake some more cookies," she repeated.  
  
"Okay," Saul agreed, letting go of Kaitlin and running to Mum.  
  
"This way," she told Alec, starting up the stairs. He nodded and picked up the rest of the boxes, then followed her.  
  
Once they were upstairs, the wrapping paper dragged out, along with the bows and ribbons, Alec said, "So yeah, um, how do you do this, exactly?"  
  
"Do what? Wrap?" Kaitlin asked.  
  
"Yeah. That."  
  
She smiled. "You don't know how?" Alec shook his head. "It's pretty easy. Just watch." She picked up a Barbie that was lying on the floor. "First, you cut a piece of wrapping paper off the roll." She did so, selecting a bright red and green paper. "Then you fold it on either side, tightly, like this, and tape it down. Then you fold the corners in and over, so that the edges lie smooth. You tape those down, too."  
  
As she spoke, she matched her movements to mirror her words. "Then you turn it over, and you can put some bows or ribbons on it if you want. And that's pretty much it," she concluded.  
  
Alec looked at her, then at the now-wrapped present, then back at her. Finally, he spoke. "So.that's all there is to it, huh?"  
  
They spent the next couple hours wrapping -- or rather, re-wrapping -- presents. All the gifts were salvageable except for one. The teddy bear. Alec didn't know why Kaitlin was so heartbroken over it, but she appeared to be. So he asked.  
  
"Why are you so upset about the teddy bear, if you don't mind me asking?"  
  
"It was for Sola," she said simply. "It's her first Christmas with us, and I wanted her to have something special. Somehow I don't think she's had a whole lot to look forward to." Her tone was thoughtful as she said it.  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
She shook her head. "It's nothing. Forget it." She stood up, stretching her legs. "Do you see the tape anywhere?"  
  
"Over here." Alec handed it to her.  
  
"Thanks." She settled back down to work, and the subject was dropped.  
  
At last, they finished. Kaitlin looked around. "It looks like a tornado blew through here."  
  
Alec had to agree. There was wrapping paper everywhere, bows scattered on the floor, and ribbon all over the place. Before long, though, they had it cleaned up, and the boxes stored away until that night, when they would be taken out again and the presents put underneath the tree. Kaitlin called it Christmas Eve.  
  
"What, you've never celebrated Christmas before?" she asked curiously.  
  
Alec shook his head. "No. My family wasn't really big on celebrating stuff." Well, that was true enough.  
  
"Oh."  
  
Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Kaitlin called.  
  
"It's the person whose room you're in," a voice returned amiably. Kaitlin opened the door; Mum was standing there, Saul peeking out from behind her.  
  
"It's snowing pretty heavily," Mum told them. "You're welcome to stay the night," she said to Alec.  
  
He looked at his watch. It was way past seven o'clock. Jam Pony was already closed for the night. While he was making these brilliant observations, Kaitlin went to the window. To her surprise, a sparkling blanket of snow covered the ground and most everything else. It was still coming down heavily, as Mum had said, looking like falling stars in a midnight sky.  
  
"Wonderful," she heard Mum say. "I'm afraid there's not much room, you'd have to sleep on the couch."  
  
"That's fine," she heard Alec reply.  
  
She turned to look at them just as Mum said, "Kaity, dear, would you get some bed linens from the closet?"  
  
"Sure, Mum."  
  
As she crossed the hall to the closet, she ran into Beth. Not literally this time, thank goodness. She smiled at her. "'Lo, Beth."  
  
Beth was a shy fourteen-year-old girl whose mother had died when she was young. No one knew who her father was. Beth had dark hair and serious hazel eyes, which she now turned on Kaitlin. "Hi, Kait."  
  
Her eyes traveled past Kaitlin and widened. Turning, Kaitlin saw Alec standing behind her. She hadn't even known he'd followed her. Biting back a smile, she said only, "Beth, this is Alec. Alec, Beth."  
  
"Hey," he said with a friendly smile.  
  
"H-hi," she stammered, blushing madly.  
  
As soon as Beth left, Kaitlin remarked, smiling, "I think she's a little taken with you."  
  
"What can I say? It's tough being hot," he quipped.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you you're full of yourself?"  
  
"All the time, actually."  
  
"I believe it," she told him as she shut the closet door.  
  
"So, what is this place, exactly?" he asked. "An orphanage or something? A shelter for strays?"  
  
"Something like that," she answered. "Mum takes care of the orphans and runaways that end up on her doorstep. Like me," she added. "There's only five of us now, but there used to be more."  
  
"You?" Somehow it had never occurred to him that she could have been one of the aforementioned strays. "Were you an orphan or a runaway?"  
  
"Both," she answered. "My parents died in a car crash when I was four. Then I was put in a foster home. My foster father was an abusive drunk, so I ran away."  
  
Her voice was nonchalant as she said this, as though it could have been anyone.  
  
"Then Mum found me, and I've been here ever since," she finished. It was a little anticlimactic, but there was really nothing more to say. She met Alec's eyes for a moment, then looked away and started down the stairs.  
  
"Anyway," she continued, "if you're staying, you get to help me put presents out tonight." She grinned. "Don't you feel special?"  
  
"Very," Alec replied dryly.  
  
Just then, a teenage boy appeared in the doorway. He looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with dirty blonde hair and nondescript gray eyes.  
  
"Hey, Jesse!" Kaitlin greeted him cheerfully.  
  
"Hi, Kait," the boy replied. Seeing Alec, his entire manner changed. The half-smile disappeared completely, leaving a sullen scowl behind. "Who are you?" he asked, none too politely.  
  
"Jesse." Kaitlin warned. "This is Alec. Be nice." The "or else" went unsaid.  
  
For some reason, Jesse reminded Alec of one of the kids he had come across after Manticore burnt down. The one who got shot. What was his name? X6-787. Bullet. Max certainly is a mastermind with names, he thought, sarcastic even in his thoughts. He and Jesse sized each other up, after which a staring contest ensued.  
  
Jesse broke eye contact first, and looked at Kaitlin. Her arms crossed and a frown on her face, she had a look on her face as if to say, "Men." With a final glare at Alec, Jesse brushed past him and headed up the stairs.  
  
As soon as he was out of earshot, Kaitlin said, "Sorry about that. He's a little territorial."  
  
Alec shrugged. "No problem." And it wasn't. He only had to put up with this kid until he left.  
  
They crossed the threshold back into the room they had first entered. Kaitlin dumped her load on the couch and settled down. "There's really not a whole lot to do except wait," she admitted. "You might as well make yourself comfortable. Unless you want something to eat?" She half-rose as she said this, as though it had never occurred to her to be inhospitable and just relax.  
  
"No, no, I'm fine," Alec assured her as he sat down in a nearby chair, a little amused by her eagerness to be of service.  
  
She sank back down onto the couch and curled up. "It's been a long day," she sighed.  
  
"Hey, why don't you take a nap and I'll wake you up later?" he suggested. Not like he had anything better to do than kill time, anyway.  
  
"Sounds good," she murmured, her eyelids fluttering shut. "Wake me up 'bout eleven."  
  
"Okay," he agreed, but she was already asleep.  
  
Norms, he thought, shaking his head. He stood up and crossed over to her. He shook out the blanket she had brought down for him and covered her with it.  
  
He stood there for a moment, watching her sleep. Her face was filled with the innocence that only those asleep can possess. Finally, he returned to the chair he had been sitting in and looked at his watch. Only two hours to go. Great.  
  
~*~  
  
About a half hour before he was supposed to wake Kaitlin up, a small figure appeared in the doorway. It was a little girl, about seven years old. And she had a shaved head. "Let me guess," Alec said. "You're Sola."  
  
She didn't answer, just stood there, watching him.  
  
Alec rolled his eyes. "Another no-talker." His eyes flicked back to Kaitlin to make sure she was asleep, then back to Sola. "So you're from Manticore, huh?"  
  
She still didn't say anything, but she approached him cautiously. She had a shadow of dark hair and chocolate brown doe eyes that seemed too big for her head. She looked strangely familiar.  
  
Then he recognized her, and sighed. "You're X8-452, aren't you?"  
  
He figured she wasn't going to answer, but after a moment or two, she nodded. Alec nodded too, letting his gaze drift. "Figures."  
  
When his eyes returned to the spot where she had been standing, there was nothing there. Alec shook his head, thinking, Not only is she from Manticore, but she's Mini Max.  
  
So it's probably a good thing she doesn't talk. 


	2. Christmas Day

Kaitlin woke up, her mind taking a moment to process her surroundings. She was still curled up on the couch, a blanket covering her. She sat up, adjusting her glasses. Her hair had long since freed itself from the cumbersome bun and was now, she imagined, sticking straight out from her head.  
  
Once her vision cleared, she saw Alec sitting in a chair, watching her. To her surprise, she saw a few rays of sunlight stretching to reach through the window. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily, willing her eyes not to close again.  
  
He looked at his watch. "About seven o'clock."  
  
"Seven o'clock?" she repeated. "In the morning?" Sleep was quickly draining away, to be replaced by panic. "I told you to wake me up at eleven last night!"  
  
He shrugged, apparently unaffected by her growing hysteria. "You were sleeping."  
  
"Yeah, that's where the whole 'wake me up' part came in!" Sighing, she looked at the empty space beneath the Christmas tree. Except that it wasn't empty. The presents were there. She looked at Alec. He was sitting there, a small smile on his face, waiting for her reaction. "You did this?" He nodded.  
  
She looked at the presents again, then back at Alec. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "Thank you," she said simply.  
  
I can't believe he did that for me, she thought. Then her thoughts took an unexpected turn, causing her to blush and avert her gaze as she realized where her thoughts were going. "Thank you," she murmured again.  
  
Alec, sensing a change in mood, was about to say something, but then they heard Saul upstairs yelling, "It's Christmas! Wake up, everybody!" He clambered down the stairs and bounded into the room. "Santa came!" he yelled happily.  
  
Kaitlin ran over and picked him up before he could attack the presents. "Just a second, mister. We have to wait for the others. Then you can start opening presents."  
  
Luckily, Saul didn't have to wait long. Soon the others were heard coming down the stairs. Beth and Jesse entered, yawning and rubbing their eyes blearily. Sola followed them, her face expressionless, but her eyes taking in everything. Mum came in soon after, appearing not only awake, but energetic besides.  
  
"Merry Christmas!" she said cheerfully.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Mum," Kaitlin replied, smiling.  
  
"Merry Christmas," the others chorused dutifully.  
  
"Everyone accounted for?" Mum asked.  
  
Kaitlin nodded. "Yup, everyone's here." She picked up a present and looked at the tag. "For Saul." She handed it to him.  
  
Saul made short work of the wrapping paper, tearing it off excitedly. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "A truck!" He promptly sat down and started rolling it back and forth on the floor.  
  
Kaitlin picked up another present. "For Beth. Merry Christmas, Beth."  
  
"Merry Christmas," Beth answered shyly as she took the gift from her. She unwrapped it neatly, laying the wrapping paper and bow to one side. "Little Women." She looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Kait."  
  
"You're welcome," Kaitlin answered, returning the smile. "Would you pick out the next one?"  
  
Beth nodded and selected a present. "For Mum."  
  
And so on and so forth. After all the presents had been opened, Mum asked if anyone was hungry. "I am!" Saul announced, still rolling his truck back and forth quite happily.  
  
"To tell you the truth, Mum, so am I," Beth spoke up. The others voiced their agreement.  
  
"All right then. How do pancakes sound?" Mum asked, smiling. There was a unanimous vote of approval to this proposal, and she left, humming a Christmas carol to herself.  
  
Kaitlin was leaning against the door, a faint smile on her face, watching the others. Alec stood up and crossed to her. "Hey, Kaitlin."  
  
"Hey, Alec," she said. "Sorry if you feel a little left out."  
  
"About that. I was thinking, I should probably get going. I don't want to wear out my welcome."  
  
"Is anyone expecting you at home?" she asked.  
  
"No, but--"  
  
"Then stay." He looked at her curiously, but she wasn't looking at him. In fact, she was steadfastly staring at something on the other side of the room.  
  
Just then, Saul yelled, "Kait and Alec are underneath the mistletoe!"  
  
Both of them looked up. Sure enough, there was a sprig right above their heads.  
  
"Why? What does that mean?" Alec whispered to her.  
  
She seemed embarrassed as she explained, "It means -- well, traditionally -- when two people are underneath the mistletoe -- they're supposed to."  
  
"Kiss," Beth finished, having heard their exchange. She smiled as they both looked at her. "Sorry, Kait, but it seemed like you were never going to spit it out."  
  
"I wasn't," Kaitlin muttered under her breath. She looked around for help, but found none. Even Mum was standing in the doorway, grinning broadly.  
  
She looked at Alec. He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "If it's a kiss they want, it's a kiss they'll get." Before she could ask what he meant by that, he dipped her backwards and kissed her. When he finally let her go, her face was scarlet, and she quickly moved to the other side of the room.  
  
Alec frowned. That was not how most women usually reacted after he kissed them. Not that Kaitlin was like any of the other women he'd ever kissed, but still.  
  
From across the room, Mum watched the two young people, and smiled knowingly.  
  
~*~  
  
After breakfast, they all went outside, except for Mum, who claimed her arthritis was bothering her. Once outside, it wasn't long before a snowball fight ensued. It was every man for himself, as Alec soon found out after being the victim of a few well-aimed snowballs.  
  
Trying to get Sola involved, Kaitlin threw a snowball at her. The little girl just looked startled and didn't respond. Kaitlin waited for her to do something, anything, even break into tears, but there was no reaction. Finally, she turned away, intending to retaliate for the snowball Jesse had just thrown at her.  
  
She felt something hit her in the back, and turned around. Sola was standing there, a big grin on her face. Kaitlin laughed and threw another one at her. This time, Sola didn't even wait for her to turn around.  
  
Meanwhile, Alec was dealing with a little problem of his own. He had seen Saul a few feet away, staring at him. Trying to be friendly, he said, "Hey, kid. You're Saul, right?"  
  
The little boy nodded. Suddenly, a snowball flew out of nowhere, straight at Saul, and he dove behind Alec, clutching his leg. "It's okay, kid. The snowball's gone. You can let go now," Alec told him.  
  
But Saul didn't budge.  
  
"C'mon, kid, let go," Alec said desperately, trying to shake him off.  
  
Still he didn't move.  
  
"A little help here!" he called, still trying to shake him off. "Please! Someone. Anyone."  
  
Seeing no one rushing to his aid, he sighed. He didn't want to have to do this, but it looked like there was no other way. He pulled out his wallet. "Okay, here's five bucks, kid. Scram."  
  
But Saul ignored the money, didn't even lift his head.  
  
"Hey, Kaitlin!" he called. "Can you get this kid off me?"  
  
She looked up when she heard her name called. Upon seeing his predicament, not to mention the pained expression on his face, she started laughing.  
  
"Thanks, that helped," Alec muttered.  
  
As soon as she had stopped laughing, which took a surprising amount of time, she made her way over to them. "Looks like Saul's gotten quite attached to you," she said, trying not to smile.  
  
"Ha ha, very funny," Alec said dryly. "Just get him off me."  
  
Still biting back a smile, she knelt so that she was at eye level with Saul. "C'mere, Saul," she said lightly. Saul shook his head and clung tighter to Alec's leg. She looked up at Alec. "Sorry, Alec, I don't think he's coming off."  
  
Just then, they heard someone yell, "Fire!" and a barrage of snowballs assailed them. That started another snowball fight, except this time there were teams: Kaitlin and Alec-n'-Saul vs. Beth, Jesse, and Sola. Saul wasn't too helpful, seeing as how he refused to let go of Alec's leg, and that in turn inhibited Alec's ability to throw and dodge snowballs. So Kaitlin pulled the weight for her team, which turned out to be a good thing, considering that she had a good aim and a better throw.  
  
When they headed in two hours later, they were exhausted but in high spirits. Once inside, Mum finally got Saul to let go of Alec. ("He's taken quite a liking to you." "Yeah, he's also taken quite a grip.") For while Saul might not have listened to the others, not to listen to Mum was sacrilege.  
  
After they cleaned up, they settled down to watch It's a Wonderful Life. After returning from a talk with Mum, Kaitlin found that the only free seat was on the couch. Next to Alec.  
  
It's no big deal. You're just sitting next to him. It's not like you're. She remembered the scene under the mistletoe and blushed. Well, never mind. Anyway, you're just going to be sitting next to him, so don't have a nervous breakdown.  
  
Hoping her face had returned to its normal color, she sat next to him as the movie began. See? Not so bad. Despite all the self-coaching, she sat rigidly, staring at the television screen but not really seeing what was on it.  
  
Eventually though, it passed, and she was able to watch little Mary sitting on the stool while little George asked her if she wanted coconuts on top with as much enjoyment as she ever had. That is, until Alec decided to rest his arm on the back of the couch. She could feel his arm brushing her shoulders.  
  
Movie, she directed herself. See George. See George argue with Mr. Potter yet again. Isn't this exciting?  
  
She sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long movie.  
  
~*~  
  
Alec caught himself looking at Kaitlin out of the corner of his eye, and once again wondered how he could have ever thought she was only moderately pretty. The light from the television screen cast a soft glow on her face, giving her an ethereal appearance. She had a natural beauty, so unlike any of the women Alec knew.  
  
He had only known her for two days, but it felt like forever. She sighed, and Alec wondered what she was thinking about. Not the movie, certainly; he had never seen anything so boring in his life. He could feel her back brushing against his arm. The casual contact sent shivers up his spine, and not for the first time, he wondered what she was doing to him.  
  
~*~  
  
Afterwards, Alec and Kaitlin found themselves sitting together alone. She had an odd feeling that it had been deliberate. Which meant that there was a good chance that there were five pairs of ears outside listening at the door right now. Oh, well.  
  
Suddenly, Alec said, "Do you get the feeling that they did this on purpose?"  
  
"You got that feeling, too? I thought it was just me," she replied with a smile. After a while, she ventured, "So.did you have a nice Christmas?"  
  
"Yeah, I did," he answered, smiling at her.  
  
She smiled back. "Me, too." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Alec."  
  
"Merry Christmas."  
  
He was starting to understand what that meant. 


	3. Epilogue

The doorbell rang. Kaitlin rose, saying, "I'll get it." She went to the door and opened it. A tall, scruffy guy was standing there, holding a package. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yeah." He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand. "I'm looking for Kaitlin. No last name."  
  
"I'm Kaitlin," she answered cautiously.  
  
He held out the package. "Here."  
  
She took it warily. "Who's it from?"  
  
"Well, I'm not supposed to say, but." He leaned forward confidentially. "Guy at work, his name's Alec. Know him?"  
  
Her heart gave a leap. She had to fight to keep her voice steady. "Yeah, I know him." Then, casually, "Where do you work?"  
  
"Jam Pony. Messenger service," he added by way of explanation.  
  
"Do I need to sign anything?" she asked.  
  
He shook his head. "Nope, thanks."  
  
"Thank you," she replied absently, wondering what was in the package.  
  
He nodded and walked away.  
  
Inside the package lay a teddy bear, a facsimile of what Kaitlin had gotten for Sola. A note lay on it that read:  
  
"For Sola --  
  
Merry Christmas.  
  
-- Santa Claus" 


End file.
